Right to dunk: the children of African immigrants who fought the law to play basketball

PICTURE ESSAY by Sophia Seymour: The GUARDIAN....

QUOTE~~~

To begin with, a mixed group showed up from different backgrounds but as the weeks went by players whose parents were born in Italy began to drop out, leaving just those whose parents were born in west Africa. Of those who remained, only two had previously been able to afford costly after-school sports activities. It took an hour to walk to training along the Domiziana dual carriageway, but if this was a deterrent for the “Italians”, the remaining players were not going to be put off. Soon, they were training three times a week and begging the coach for longer and longer sessions. As the winter nights closed in on the outdoor court, the players’ initial interest developed into diehard passion just as Antonelli had hoped. Little did they know the far-reaching consequences their sporting hunger would have.